This year one of the hottest trends in style aesthetics is coastal chic. A couple of years ago you may have heard of coastal grandma style. That style, based on the vibes given off from the wardrobes worn by stars like Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep in popular Nancy Meyers movies (as well leading lady wardrobes in similar movies), has morphed into what we’re now calling coastal chic. If nothing else, the new moniker clears up the fact that you absolutely do not have to be a grandmother or even of the grandmothering age to wear this effortless, chic style with coastal influences.
FREE PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE: Big news! If you’re one of my email subscribers (aka, my favorite people!), you can download a printable version of this ultimate Casual Coastal Chic Capsule Wardrobe for Summer. It’s in the Printable Library, which is only accessible via the code we all share. That code can always be found at the bottom of your most recently email newsletter from me. And yes, it does change occasionally. Enjoy!
Later this week I’ll be sharing essential tips for creating casual coastal chic outfits this summer in a YouTube video. In fact, while I normally post YT videos on Wednesday, I need to shift to Thursday this week. You may know that I just returned from a three-week vacation, so I need an extra day to get this week’s video shot and edited. But in that video I’ll be modeling outfits from this capsule wardrobe and sharing those essential style tips so you can create similar looks from your own closet.
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I’ve put together a capsule wardrobe of just 20 pieces. And that includes accessories and a jacket! A capsule wardrobe is just any set number of items that will mix and match to create multiple outfits. You can live with a capsule wardrobe, or you can create one when you travel, as you enter into a new season, for work or, in this case, for a specific style aesthetic you’d like to play around with.
My Coastal Chic Capsule Wardrobe is just part of my summer wardrobe. But I love pulling pieces from my closet and using them for a period of time like this. You might be amazed at how many outfits I can create from these 16 garments and 4 accessories. I won’t be sharing them all in this blog post, but you can see all 51 looks in the downloadable PDF of the capsule wardrobe found in the Printable Library.
The images in the above graphic represent my Coastal Chic Capsule Wardrobe. A couple of the items are substitutes for the garments I actually have in my closet from last year, but most of them are the actual pieces. I really created this capsule wardrobe for my personal enjoyment and for your inspiration. But of course you can shop these pieces through the links in the captions above and also through the shopping widget below. (The linen shawl collar dress is not included in the shopping widget, but it is available.)
Thursday, in this week’s YouTube video, I’ll share more about how to use these or similar pieces to create the Coastal Chic style aesthetic. And if you’d like to have access to all 51 outfits I created with this capsule, just sign up for my weekly or daily email newsletter (you get to choose the frequency and I try to make them value-packed) so you’ll have access to the Printable Library. But I’m sharing a few of the outfit formulas below so you can begin to see how the capsule works.
Coastal Chic Outfit Templates
Many capsule wardrobes are created with mostly or even all neutrals. They’re simply easier to work with. I love wearing neutrals and they definitely work nicely for the coastal chic aesthetic. But I’ve worked a little color into my Coastal Chic Capsule Wardrobe. After all, it’s summer!
Red is so on trend this summer. And we’re seeing it in everything from tops to dresses to pants or shoes. It can feel risky buying colored pants or shorts, but you can get a lot of mileage out of them if you play your cards right.
I can create very nautical looks with my red pants by pairing them with blue, navy and/or white, like I did above and in the template below.
Or I can pair my red linen pants with my black tee for a more elevated look, like I did in the template below.
My cognac accessories are perfect for this capsule because they elevate the most casual looks, but they also look dressy enough for dinner out.
The keys to creating cohesive capsule wardrobes include having a nice number of simple but impactful base layers, but also incorporating versatile top layers that serve multiple purposes. That’s why I love having a linen jacket like the one above. Mine is actually a bomber jacket from Talbots last year, whereas the one shown is from Hollister, but I found a very affordable one here and I love this option at a favorite retailer.
That bomber jacket will elevate a simple jeans and tank top. And when worn with a skirt, like above, it tones the outfit down, making it look more casual and carefree. But another great layering piece for the Coastal Chic aesthetic is a lightweight linen and/or cotton pullover sweater.
The Eileen Fisher sweater here is so lightweight, you can probably wear it comfortably through the summer (especially in air-conditioning) with the linen pants shown above. But you can also use it to drape over your shoulders for additional looks, like the one below.
I love wearing linen in the summer. But I do enjoy some summer weight blue jeans and white denim, too.
These Madewell jeans are perfect for summer because they’re in a lighter wash and the fabric is a lighter weight denim, too. And the wide-leg silhouette lends beautifully to the coastal chic style aesthetic. But I also love the Madewell tile white cropped jeans for summer.
Here’s a photo of me wearing that outfit with slightly different accessories.
Gauze is so on trend for summer 2024, and it’s a nice alternative if you don’t enjoy linen. That gauze top above comes in so many great colors, so even if your color palette is different from mine, I suggest checking out.
I wanted some cheerful color in my coastal chic capsule wardrobe, but I think it’s always smart to add a black top, shirt or blouse to the mix, too. That one top will instantly elevate anything you pair it with.
And here’s the black tee with the skirt.
I would love to share more outfits of the 51 I created with these 20 pieces, but I’ve discovered that blog posts with a lot of photos are hard for some readers to load on their devices. So I’ll let you see the rest of them in the downloadable/printable PDF of the Coastal Chic Capsule Wardrobe located in the Printable Library. You’re going to love it. You can shop from that capsule, too. And you can download it on your phone and view it there as well.
Be sure to tune in Thursday for my YouTube video on Essentials Style Tips for Coastal Chic Outfits. Tomorrow I’ll be back here with A Few of Our Favorite Things from May 2024. Have a great day!
PS – I’d love it if you’d pin the graphic below in your Pinterest boards or share it on Facebook. Thanks so much for sharing Dressed for My Day with others!
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If you like what you’re seeing here at Dressed for My Day, I invite you to subscribe to my email list. You can receive an email each time I post (about 6 times weekly) or just on Saturdays. You choose! But you’ll also receive the password to open up all the subscriber freebies I offer.
Blessed for My Day
I tend to do a major life-reset about three times a year: once as the new year begins, once in the fall as school begins (it’s just ingrained in me!) and once after vacation. Having just returned from a three-week vacation, I feel rested and reinvigorated. And I’m ready to do things a little differently, too. I began Monday getting out for my daily walk first thing instead of waiting until later in the day. And I’m making more of a point to have at least one meaningful conversation with a family member or dear friend every day. These are just a couple of the changes I’ve made and the goals I’ve set in this reset.
What about you? Is it time for a reset? When I do my other two resets it’s more a matter of sitting down with a calendar and mapping out the future. But after vacations I have the mental and emotional bandwidth to adjust almost seamlessly. Still, I have written down a few goals and plans. And enlisting some accountability always helps, too. Just a little something to think about today.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones. ~ Proverbs 3:5-8
I have searched this post 3 times and can’t find the password. Where should I be looking?
Hi Barbara. The password is not here in this blog post. It’s at the bottom of the email newsletters I send. You need to be an email subscriber to have access to the password and it is available in the welcome email as well.
I have subscribed to your newsletter for many years, but I can’t find the password I need to view your printable library. Can you tell me specifically where it is?
Thank you!
Mary
Hello Mary. I’m so sorry for the frustration. The password is located toward the bottom of my daily or weekly email newsletters. It very clearly says, “ To access the Subscriber Only Printable Library, use code ‘XXXXXXX’ when asked for a password.” It could be that you are actually subscribed to the WordPress email service but not my newsletter. They are two different things and I don’t really recommend the WordPress newsletter but sometimes people subscribe to it when they comment I think. It’s not something I promote. You can subscribe to the email newsletter above. I hope that clarified things. Again, I’m sorry for the frustration.
I cannot get the link to the red linen pants to work. Could you tell me where they are from? Thank you!
I’m so sorry about that. I forgot to link those. Here’s the link: https://rstyle.me/+0t7_9SedODdzUqqAM7uOhg
Hi Kay,
I like what you are showing today and want to check out your printable Library, however, I can not find the latest code. I used it a couple weeks ago but I cannot remember what it is, and I can’t find it in this blog or the last one either. Can you help me. I sometimes look right past things, so I apologize ahead. Thank you. I want to save this today!
Janie
The code is at the bottom of the email, not the blog post.
This is fabulous! Thank you so much for the capsule wardrobe. You make it seem so easy and your outfit suggestions are so on point!! Please continue doing these for fall and winter time too!
Kay,
I love all of the outfits in the capsule wardrobe printable, but I can’t print all of that! Is there a way to put 12 or 15 outfits on one page? Then I could print 4-5 pages instead of 53?
Sorry to be picky!
Welcome Home! Looks like you had a grand trip! I finally bought my first Frank & Eileen piece! What a wonderful company and backstory. I bought the Liberty fabric button-up and LOVE it! (got the blue one). What size did you get? I am close in size to you and bought the medium. I didn’t want it TOOOO flowy! I can’t wait to try the tie-hack you presented in your video. Thanks, Kay!
Wonderful. Yes, my shirt is a medium too.
I like the coastal capsule. And I really like your comment about “one meaningful conversation per day”. I recently noticed that those conversations go a long way to providing a sense of connection and thereby reducing stress.
Exactly. Thanks for understanding. 🥰